FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that he feels “embarrassed and ashamed” after watching approximately 30,000 German Eintracht Frankfurt fans pack the away stand of the Camp Nou stadium to see their team knock out the Spanish giants Barcelona out of the UEFA Europa League quarter finals by winning 3-2 on the night.
Despite Eintracht being allotted only 5,000 tickets for the matchday on Thursday, it was observed that a lot more supporters travelled to Barcelona and were able to buy tickets later on, resulting in the German fans dominating the total attendance on the night which was 79,400
The German fans had a night to remember as they celebrated throughout the game after their side had taken a shock 3-0 lead and held on to it by winning 3-2 and booking their semi-final berth as well. Laporta was one of the spectators as well and felt disheartened after watching his team lose as well.
“What happened makes me feel embarrassed and ashamed. There were a lot of fans of the other team and not many of ours. I’m very sorry for what has happened,” Laporta said in his declarations on Barca TV, according to the Xinhua reports. “We have to be much stricter. We can’t allow these situations to happen (again),” he further added.
Barca coach Xavi Hernandez did also admit that the atmosphere didn’t help his players.
“I tried to tell the players that the important thing is what happens on the pitch, but logically this could have affected us; it’s very clear,” he stated. However, he was quick to admit that even though the atmosphere was not helping his side, “on the pitch, we haven’t been good, and we haven’t competed.”
Pedri left the field at half-time complaining of a problem in his left hamstring and was replaced by Frenkie de Jong. Early indications were that he had suffered a torn hamstring and those fears have now been confirmed.
“Tests on Friday have revealed that Pedri has ruptured the femoral biceps in his left hamstring. It means he will be unavailable for selection until he recovers from the injury,” the Barca Website confirmed.
With the season finishing on May 22, it seems unlikely Pedri can recover from such an injury in time to play again in this campaign, especially as he has been hampered by muscle problems since early September.
(Inputs from IANS)